Harry Kane says his late winner in his first north London derby was a “magical moment” that will live long in the memory – and the striker hopes the victory will help Tottenham to secure a top-four finish, and finally finish above Arsenal.

Spurs were trailing 1-0 to the Gunners at half-time at White Hart Lane on Saturday, as Arsene Wenger’s visitors attempted to increase their lead over the Lilywhites to five points.

However, Kane – a boyhood Spurs fan - levelled 10 minutes after the break before heading home in the 85th minute to turn the match on its head and take Mauricio Pochettino’s side above their arch-rivals in the table.

“It was incredible, what a feeling – one I definitely won’t forget for a long long time,” said Kane, whose brace took his tally to 22 goals for Spurs this season.

“It was just magical, the whole day. We played probably one of the best games we’ve played all season, the fans were electric – probably one of the loudest I’ve ever heard them - and to finish off the way it did was just a magical moment.”

Harry Kane leaps to head home the late winner

Kane, who stayed on the pitch with the other Tottenham players after the final whistle to enjoy the victory with the supporters, added: “I didn’t want to come off - I wish I was still out there now with the fans!

“It was a special day, my first north London derby and the way it panned out was just incredible. It’s something I won’t forget.”

While Tottenham have been battling for a top-four spot for almost 10 years now, they have only had one Champions League adventure, in 2010-11. Meanwhile, the club have not finished above Arsenal since 1995 - but Kane hopes Saturday’s triumph will help them to achieve both goals this campaign.

“That’s the aim, that’s where we want to be, up with the top teams in the top four, which is what everyone talks about,” he said.

“If we finish above Arsenal of course we’ve got a great chance of finishing in the top four because Arsenal have been up there for so many years now.

“You’d like to think if you’re ahead of Arsenal then you’d be in the top four but the Premier League is a strange league sometimes and you never know what’s going to happen.

“There seems to be an opportunity [to finish above them] every season and then come the end it doesn’t happen - but that’s not the only thing, it’s not just about finishing above Arsenal. We want to finish as high up the table as we can and days like that make it better.

“We’ve got another tough game on Tuesday night [at Liverpool] and we’ve proved this season that we can beat the bigger teams, we’re not scared of them.

“We’ve got to keep doing what we are doing and everyone is on a high so we’ve got to keep that going for as long as possible.

“We’re in the final of the Capital One Cup, still in the Europa League and everyone’s buzzing at the moment so we have to keep that feeling.”

Saturday’s derby victory over the Gunners provided further evidence of the improvements that Spurs are making under Mauricio Pochettino.

Having suffered four defeats out of five home league games earlier in the season – against Liverpool, West Brom, Newcastle and Stoke - Tottenham have beaten Chelsea and Arsenal at the Lane so far in 2015.

They have also made a habit of coming from behind to win, and grabbing late winners – and they achieved both feats against Arsenal on Saturday.

“I think the mentality has definitely changed,” said Kane. “We’ve been behind in a lot in games this season but we’ve shown great character, stuck to our game plan and dug deep even in the final minutes – and we showed that again [on Saturday].

“We’ve made this a tough place to come as well and I don’t think there will be many clubs looking at us thinking they want to play us at White Hart Lane, whereas at the start of the season maybe they were.

“The place is buzzing at the moment, the fans are loving it and we’ve got to keep that going for as long as possible.”

Tottenham’s continuing ability to finish the game stronger than their opponents is impressive given that they have already played 40 games this season.

But Kane said: “We had a great pre-season and as the season has gone on we’ve got fitter and fitter, and we’ve got better - and I think that showed again. We looked stronger and I think we can keep that going for as long as possible.

“I feel the fittest I’ve ever felt, the best shape I’ve ever been in. The gaffer did a lot of work on getting us fit and it’s really starting to work.

“There wasn’t a good moment in pre-season, if I’m honest! There were double sessions, times when you were pushing yourself to the limit, but you’re doing it for a reason. This is the reason that you’re seeing now.

“I think [my form] is about both fitness and confidence. When you’re winning, the adrenalin is pumping and everyone is ready to go so we’ve got to keep the energy levels high.”

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